Chapter 49: Asura Grounds (One)
Regret spread within his heard like a tide. He knew at last that while this person knew he couldn't do anything against them now, Xu Yangyi could frighten them into a cold sweat!
This was his deliberate display of strength!
Yes, I am unable to take action now, but it doesn't represent I won't be able to later! I may not be able to tally this debt for now, but sooner or later, there will be a time of my reckoning!
He repentance within his heart wasn't so much because he had provoked Xu Yangyi, but rather the Bountiful Treasures Pavilion's business!
Not even to speak of business that hadn't even been finished, the Bountiful Treasures Pavilion would still sever business dealings! A half a year… The financial loss would at the minimum be over a 100 million!
How could his heart not be aching? How could it not be dripping blood?
He might as well say he was marvelously well where he stood!
At the very least, he could still refute such a person who was hesitating with his words and would truly cause his death!
Moreover, it didn't need to be said… If some old berserk monsters caught wind of this matter, never mind him, what about his family members?
As he thought of this here, he steeled himself! There were still many fugitives that didn't fear the investigative criminal law of the cultivation courts!
He clenched his hand even tighter and his fingernails dug into his flesh. His heart ached numbly in pain as if it was being bitten over and over again by a legion of ants.
"Our Featherwood Guard will also investigate this immediately! Moreover, we'll give Fellow Daoist an answer as soon as possible!" Lotus cupped her hands and said: "In the case it is discovered, headquarters will halt the other party's registered cultivators' granted missions posthaste!"
"Our CSIB will reject all the other party's request for half a year!"
Chu Tianyi's throat was aching.
He knew that these people had roughly guessed who it was, however… How could they care for someone else's insignificant matter?
No one was mentioned by name, and he himself couldn't suddenly appear. RIght now, these people were clearly playing the fool and making all kinds of promises! Moreover, he was without the least bit doubt that they would truly follow through with their promises!
Damn it… Goddamn it!
"Many thanks for every seniors deep consideration. I will give an answer for everyone tomorrow." Xu Yangyi finished speaking and said no more. He exhausted his whole strength to press down on the bullet in his chest, but the bullet wouldn't come out like it had taken root.
This feeling without qi in his body was too difficult to bear.
His words had at last thoroughly put this scene of fighting over him to a temporary reprieve. Regardless of no matter how unwilling everyone was, they couldn't not give him face.
For such a hot commodity, the others couldn't be rude. Merely, everyone present knew that tomorrow's price would surely be much higher than today's!
"The great gate of Core Formation…" A youth of the talisman Wang Family looked up towards the sky and sighed, sitting down in his seat. His entire person appeared fairly despondent because of his steep disappointment: "A million cultivators replacing one another as the first falls and the second follows in this struggle for the Grand Dao in order to steal this shred of an opportunity…"
"This entrance has opened up by a crack now… It is dangled before me, yet it still does not belong to us…"
"A single Xu Yangyi is already tempting, as is the exquisiteness of Daomaster Floatingcloud's chess move, yet I didn't expect… ultimately, the matter still has not been determined…" A clan master said quietly: "Tomorrow… What will the price look like that the other clans take out tomorrow?"
Moonchaser's complexion was awfully ashen.
Xu Yangyi's words… In the end, it was Daomaster Floatingcloud that had supplied the arcane effort, but Xu Yangyi had unexpectedly still not selected Daomaster Floatingcloud! He was Core Formation master! A figure at the world's pinnacle!
Where was there a problem?
He puzzled over this matter over a hundred times, but was still left without explanation.
He turned around and sighed deeply. His face calm, he said to his assistant: "Ask Heavens Law whether or not did Little Friend Xu have any other requests when he was studying at the academy? Or perhaps interests?"
"Your Excellency…" The assistant wearing a well-tailored western-style suit was somewhat embarrassed: "I don't know what's going on… I wasn't able to contact the above just now. It seems there some issue with the signal."
"This is understandable." Firecloud overheard their conversation and laughed: "The arena opens only once every five years, so there's too many troubles with the Unrivaled Beneath the Heavens's communication circuitry installation. The Fengyi City Branch isn't the Shanghai Branch anyways; where is all the money to maintain it going to come from? Besides…"
He picked up his cell phone and shook it: "I can't get a connection above, as well. What's the worry?"
Moonchaser snorted, but didn't say anything.
"Something hasn't happened above, right?" Shadowslay slightly furrowed his brows.
Firecloud eventually nodded his head with a kind of "you're watching him with ill eyes": "Should be, for example a big explosion or something, hehe…"
They laughed casually, their moods not too stifled. After all, at this kind of time, they had already been obviously knocked out of the running. It without saying it would be better to watch the heated affair of the object they were unable to obtain.
Besides the people of the Big Three in the VIP section that were still busying themselves, there were still two people without even the shred of a smile.
There wasn't a trace of an expression on Chu Tianyi's face until a voice came from his side: "Mr. Chu, you've gone and prepared the wedding clothes for someone else."*
"Qi Mingyang…" Chu Tianyi didn't look at Vice Branchmaster Qi at his side and said calmly: "If I hand the Immortal Intoxication to your right now, what would be the result?"
"I dare not lay my hands on it." Vice branchmaster Qi said with lingering fear within his heart: "In any case, this is Heavens Law branch. Of course, I wouldn't know of the things you set about to, but the nature is completely different if I set my hands to it. However…"
Rather than be worried about me, wouldn't it be better to be concerned about the Chu Clan?" He laughed grimly and set down his teacup, looking at Chu Tianyi continue to stare straight ahead at the arena with a wooden expression: "This kid's talent could be rated as fiendish. Now that he has obtained the assistance of a Core Formation arcane effort… In the number of 20,000 Foundation Establishment cultivators, I'm afraid that in a few decades, his name will be on that list, hehe… Mr. Chu, I don't think he's the type of man to take things lying down."
Chu Tianyi was silent for a long period of time and he said calmly: "A genuine supreme-grade spirit stone to make disappear."
"It's not enough…" Qi Mingyang said heavily: "There's a risk to his price now; it's insufficient."
"State your demands." Chu Tianyi held his teacup and pursed his lips: "I don't want to hear his name again within a decade."
There was no response.
"Are you scared I am unable to pay this price?" Chu Tianyi sneered at the corner of his mouth.
There was still no response.
He turned his head in annoyance, but at this moment, his entire person jumped!
At his side… separated by a single foot, Heavens Law's Vice Branch Master, Qi Mingyang, the person who had caused Xu Yangyi to fail in his breakthrough, the Foundation Establishment senior that eliminated nuisances for Chu Tianyi, at this moment...
He had been beheaded!
An undisturbed smile was still preserved on his face, and his head had been raised up by a hand. This hand had raised the head high in the air, causing it to greedily spill blood.
Threads of scarlet liquid poured into a tender and beautiful mouth. The crimson ichor followed the corner of this mouth to extend down towards and flow over a body!
"You… You!" Chu Tianyi was frightened out of his spirit. Even he was unable to restrain his screech: "How could you possibly be here!"
It was a lovely, young girl.
An extremely beautiful young lolita.
Her long hair draped down to her waist like a cascade of black silk. She had a pair of limpid peach blossom eyes, two willowy brows, and on her body, she wore a gorgeous bright-yellow Qing-era qipao with a vermilion phoenix wishing to take flight with flapping wings embroidered on it.
Her skin was extremely white, a whiteness like that of a dead man, and her revealed skin was like sparking and translucent snow. She appeared to be no more than thirteen or fourteen years old, but the fullness of her chest made a great majority of the women present blush in shame. With a slender waist that could be fully grasped, she had long legs like water snakes, outlining her extraordinarily captivating beauty.
However, at this instant, Chu Tianyi didn't have the bit of a mind to admire her. Rather, he was trembling frigidly from hair to toe, coldly terrified!
The beautiful young girl even twisted Qi Mingyang's still-smiling head like a toy lantern. The contrast of her snow-white skin and the dark-red blood only caused people to shiver from this strange sensation!
Rivulets of blood extended down to her body, yet she seemed not to be aware of this, only carrying an intoxicated look of delight. Her face that in all likelihood that would become an outstanding beauty in the future revealed a kind of intoxicated joy. Her ten jade fingers fiddled around with the head in her hands, and this scene made Chu Tianyi sense a bone-piercing killing intent.
The young girl didn't respond, and Chu Tianyi quietly stood up without need of his cane. This high official of China that not even shivered once just now tightly pursed his lips at this moment, making himself retreat back step by step as far as he could.
His head was soaked in a cold sweat and he dragged his fist with a deathly tightness. As for the two cultivators he had brought with him at the Great Circle of Qi Condensation, their spirits had already fled their bodies in fright at this moment. They were greatly horrified and their teeth made a chattering sound as they shivered. They wanted to retreat, yet they discovered that both of their legs were completely out of their control!
This was true terror.
A shivering like one's body had arrived in hell
The god of death was no less than two meters away from him with a smile that could bring the entire heart to a full shiver.
"Boom…" The head was tossed to the side by the young girl, and Chu Tianyi immediately froze in step. His throat was awfully sore, extremely sore. He wanted to yell, but was simply unable to shout. It was as if the palpable oppressing force had already transformed into hand that had tightly grasped onto his throat.
"Truly a flavor that can make one feel intoxicated." The young girl didn't wear shoes and her snowy jade feet leisurely strolled towards Chu Tianyi. The expression on her face was absent of sorrow or joy, like it was dead autumn leaves or the abyss of the winter sun. She seemed not to have just killed a man, but only casually crushed an ant.
Did a person need a reason to crush an ant to death? It was unnecessary. If it truly was required, then...
She, was hungry.
"I saw you on the television." The young girl coolly sat down in the seat where Chu Tianyi was originally seated, holding the teacup and gently taking a sip: "Good tea… Is this that excellent Big Red Robe? The one with only a single tree in all of China?"**
She slightly raised her head and her hair seemed to move as if the wind was sweeping through it, but there was no wind. She carried a sliver of sorrow in her eyes: "In my 128 years… I have never experience this flavor…"
"Humans, how low and petty, but moreover frail…" She gently caressed the teacup lid. As if she had not spoken with humans for far too long, she faintly said: "But, for society to develop to the present… Even though those ancient and aloof cultivators were inseparable to humanity, as well…"
"Because of the thinness of qi, the flying speed of Foundation Establishment cultivators can compare to… What is it called?" The young girl raised her chin, setting off an elegant curve. It wasn't until after several seconds of quiet did she speak: "Right, airplane. They would rather sit down on an airplane, unwilling to fly themselves… and that's not even to mention Qi Condensation worms…"
The cultivation world's cornerstone is its several hundred thousand Qi Condensation cultivators. They rely on humanity's livelihood, and Foundation Establishment cultivators can barely exceed external objects with difficulty… Heh… What am I saying?" She finally smiled, sudden like the coming of spring wind at night and the blossoming of a vast forest of pear flower trees.***
"Vice Minister Chu, I haven't spoken for a long time, so I don't even know what to say. How about you accompany me with a few words?"
Chu Tianyi's entire body was drenched in a cold sweat.
Even when countless people had declared that they would assist Xu Yangyi in his vengeance moments ago, he had not been so frightened!
"What?" A smidgen of worry appeared on the young girl's face, and she stood up delicately: "Are you unwilling to?"
"Do you think I'm insane, too?"
"Attack!!!!!!" Chu Tianyi had not yelled, but the two Qi Condensation cultivators were finally unable to restrain themselves from releasing a hoarse cry!
"Attack!!! Attack!!! Protect Vice Minister Chu! Attack! This is not a joke!!!"
A mournful screech cut across the tranquility of the Unrivaled Beneath the Heavens Arena, and everyone suddenly jumped in their hearts! The first reaction of the Foundation Establishment cultivators was to transform into eight silhouettes and soar towards Chu Tianyi in a flash!
A white rainbow pierces the sun, a cold wind howls!****
At this instant, the Foundation Establishment cultivators erupted with their maximum spiritual force!
Within the qi walls, Xu Yangyi's eyes suddenly opened.
What was going on outside?
One, two, three, four… eight rays of qi that could simply be called supernatural suddenly burst out! It was different from the prior eruption; these qi rays carried a killing intent that could make the heart tremble!
What was happening?!
All of the Foundation Establishment cultivators were making a move?
He was without the slightest doubt a Qi Condensation cultivator because… among these rays, even the weakest was by far vastly stronger than himself!
In the outside world, of the eight silhouettes, Wang Buzhi bore the brunt of the impact!
"Wobble…" It was unknown when, but a violet bell had appeared within his hands, its style ancient and a speck of magenta radiance was faintly discernible within it, carrying a swift and fierce murderous aura. As if the bell was a startled goose, it raced towards the young girl.
Behind him, three old men, already so old they were soon to be buried, emitted spiritual pressure from their bodies. In the same vein, they were...
The Great Circle of Foundation Establishment!
"Even the three old friends in wintry cold have come…" The young girl faintly exclaimed: "I see some nostalgic faces…"*****
"Life is bitter and short. Enjoy the present with no thought of the future. Why are you all so anxious to throw your lives away…"
Firecloud, Shadowslay, Moonchaser, and some unknown cultivator were behind the old man.
Carrying a fan raging with flames, three cold rays of swords shot out from it, piercing towards the young girl with a speed that could chase stars and overtake the moon!
Eight furious roars carrying an unparalleled fury shook the firmament in the Unrivaled Beneath the Heavens Arena!
"Fiend! Accept your death!"
* "Made wedding clothes for someone else" This line is based off a poem called "A Poor Woman" by Qin Taoyu. This poem depicts the story of a poor woman that makes wedding clothes for other women, but because she is poor does not have the resources to get her own. This phrase has come to be known as an idea of "Doing all the hard work for someone else's benefit"
** 本宫 - This is what the girl calls herself. "This palace" used to denote high social status, especially in a royal court.
*** This bit of about pear flower trees and the spring wind at night is based off a poem by a Tang poet named Cen Can.
**** 长虹贯日，寒风飒起 - White rainbow penetrates the sun, cold wind howls. Line by a Tang poet, Li Bai (701-762). Believed to be an astrological sign that the world will be thrust into disaster
***** 岁寒三友 - "Three friends in the cold" This is kinda hard to get down in English, since this phrase is based on a traditional Chinese story/lesson. These three old friends refer to three types of trees: Pine, Bamboo, and Plum. It is said that these three trees are extremely strong and hearty, so that even in the winter, they still grow. It is said that pine is evergreen, never old, bamboo follows the path of the noble, and plum is clear as ice clean like jade. Because these three trees can grow together and remain healthy in the cold of winter together, they are said to be three "friends". So there is your story inside a story.
I would say the girl uses this story in context in an almost mocking manner.
T/N: Asura Grounds has a couple different translations, but myth behind it is more significant. Supposed to depict the region where Asuras battle and fight. In Buddhist mythology, Asuras are considered demigods that follow a particular sin, usually wrath. While they are powerful, they are incapable of using peace to settle things and delight in battle. This particular chapter title is to denote a bloody battle.
Also I have finished revisions of chapters 31-40. DATED: 1/3/18